Boy, 11, Is Killed in Hit-and-Run Incident

Published: October 23, 1994

An 11-year-old boy was killed yesterday near Starrett City in Brooklyn when a man driving a green Plymouth struck him as the boy stood in the street watching a friend change a tire, the police said.

The driver, Thomas Murray, 41, of 760 67th Street in Brooklyn, was driving northbound on Van Siclen Avenue when he struck the boy, Joseph Murray, at the corner of Flatlands Avenue and then sped off. Witnesses said he then made a U-turn several blocks away and drove by the scene again before driving away.

Mr. Murray, who is not related to the victim, was caught about six blocks north of the accident scene by a housing police patrol unit that had heard a description of the car on the radio.

The boy, who lived nearby on Elmira Loop in Starrett City, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr. Murray, who had a valid driver's license, was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident, said Sgt. John McCluskey, a Police Department spokesman. Sergeant McCluskey added that it did not appear that the driver was speeding or driving erratically when he struck the boy, but he will be tested to determine whether he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which is normal in such cases.